


Baby Talk

by Background_Foxe



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Crack Treated Seriously, Domestic, M/M, Magic, Young Dean Winchester, Young Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29220237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Background_Foxe/pseuds/Background_Foxe
Summary: Jody Mills finds her hands full after a magical item accidentally transforms Sam and Dean into four year old boys. Will Castiel be able to find a way to turn them back, and will her house still be standing when he does?Author's note: Implied background Cas/Dean, this fic contains no reference to underage anything. Originally intended as a drabble, failed miserably
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Jody Mills & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Comments: 6
Kudos: 57





	Baby Talk

It was an ordinary, pleasant evening and as everyone knew, ordinary, pleasant evenings always tempted fate. 

The knock on the door came about half eight in the evening; both of the girls were quiet, one out with an after school drama group and the other listening to ear splitting noise that was generously called music by someone. Dinner was finished, the plates washed and put away, the laundry already folded, and Jody had treated herself to a glass of rum and coke and whatever Netflix had to offer that day. 

Or at least that had been the plan, anyway.

Opening the door revealed a bedraggled and clearly fatigued angel, mud smeared on his cheek and his clothing crumpled and faintly lopsided. A small child was curled up against his chest, thumb in mouth and clearly fast asleep, and another of the same age was holding onto Castiel’s hand with the other firmly gripped around a makeshift sword hastily crafted from a couple of sticks and some string.

Jody reviewed the situation in silence for a moment, and then raised her eyes to Castiel in question.

Vivid but exhausted blue eyes stared back at her.

“You’d better come in, Cas,” she said finally. “Shall I take him?”

She indicated to the small boy who had still not woken up, his dark brown hair flopped over his eyes and his body still curled up tightly like a small hibernating creature. She already knew where this was going. Dealing with Cas and the Winchesters seemed to operate on the opposite of Occam's Razor; whatever crazy situation she could think of was normally the right one, and there was no way that Cas would have travelled without either of the boys.

Ergo, the two small boys in various colours of plaid and slightly battered had to be Sam and Dean for reasons she couldn’t even begin to imagine. On the plus side, they didn’t seem to be baby demons.

“Thank you, Jody,” Castiel accepted the offer and slowly, carefully, deposited the sleeping boy into Jody’s arms in a way that suggested the angel was still trying to work out how to deal with small children. Jody estimated they were probably around the three or four year old mark, still definitely little but with enough age that toileting and conversation were at least viable, and that again was a definite plus. 

She looked down at the boy he had handed her. Long, dark eyelashes, soft floppy hair, little limbs that were curled up, and so many small, little things that felt both a long time ago and yet so familiar. Sam stirred slightly, making a soft sleepy noise, before he happily cuddled closer to Jody’s warmth and fell asleep again. 

Dean was a little more feisty. Having studied Jody carefully, he immediately tugged toward the house and was only stopped by Castiel tightening his grip on Dean’s hand. Outraged small child eyes stared back at the angel and the sword was waggled in a child’s version of a menacing way. 

“ _Cas_! Let go! I have a _job_ to do!” 

Jody raised her eyes from small Winchester to Castiel in question. There was a weary sigh.

“Dean believes it’s his job to investigate all locations first to check they’re safe,” the angel explained.

“Oh.” Jody looked back at Dean who was still trying to escape Castiel’s grasp. The small boy suddenly realised he had an audience and brightened.

“You tell him!” Dean was both insistent and pleading. “Jo- _dee_ , tell him I have to do this! My sword is really, really strong, it can fight off _any_ monsters! I promise!”

Castiel looked even more exhausted. “It was easier to find him an age appropriate weapon than risk him trying to obtain one from the trunk of the vehicle.” 

“I can understand that,” Jody nodded, and stepped back as Castiel closed the door behind him, still clinging to the little whirlwind that was Dean. “Uh, well, everything’s shut and locked up, but I’m sure we could always do with another security sweep. Just don’t go into the girl’s rooms, they’re.. uh, warded already. You don’t want to set those off, right Dean?”

“Right!” Dean looked determined and then scuttled away as soon as Castiel released his hold. Jody could already hear him in the dining room poking around in what was probably a thorough but destructive job.

“I was about to have a drink. You look like you could do with one,” Jody advised, making her way across to the couch. Carefully placing Sam down on one end, she covered him with a small blanket normally used for tv watching snuggle ups and surveyed him fondly. So small. Reminded her of another time, another baby. Jody gently stroked over his hair before moving back to her original spot and finding another glass for Castiel. It felt as though they’d both need it.

“It’s rum.” she advised when Castiel sniffed it, a frown confirming his curiosity. “So.. I guess this is the bit you tell me what’s going on.”

“Ancient magical relic.” Castiel took a mouthful and hesitated, looking at the glass for a moment. “This is agreeable.”

“It is indeed,” Jody moved to top it up again, ignoring the coke aspect. Small children were hard enough as it is. Small Winchesters who sounded like they remembered a lot of their older life? Full on torture. “Although I’m going to need a bit more context.”

“We...uh.” Castiel paused and thought about it. “I’m not quite sure, it was a strange set of circumstances. We received word of odd happenings around a storage locker, and research into the deceased owner suggested that they were a collector of unusual artefacts. On gaining access to the locker, we were able to find a few items and then we either set off a ward or a curse. I appear to be unaffected … or at least by the magic, anyway.” Another pause and a faintly pitiful expression. “Children are hard.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Jody sipped her own drink. No point in asking whether Cas knew how to revert it; it was quite clear that he had been subjected to the baby Winchesters for at least a day by the sheer state of him. No one was going to do that if there was an easy ‘return to adult’ button to press. “How much do they remember? Dean sounded like he knew something.”

Castiel let out a soft breath.

“I don’t know. Both of them knew a lot at the beginning, but they’re slowly losing memories that they don’t actively think about regularly. So they know their names, they know me, they know you as I’ve reminded them where we were going seemingly every five minutes in the car, and Dean is desperate to remember that they’re hunters but the memory of what those monsters are is fading. I believe the only reason he knows vampires and werewolves is due to an excessive number of Scooby Doo cartoons.”

“They both look the same age.” Jody glanced across at the sleeping Sam. “Sounds like the spell.. or whatever it is .. had a fixed age. Any idea how to remove it?”

“None. I am hoping that a few contacts might know, although some of those contacts are … questionable.” Cas tapped his finger on the glass in thought before looking up with a particular expression. Jody knew that expression well. It had a very regular occurrence at the sheriff’s office whenever people had cases they didn’t really want to do.

“You want me to look after the boys while you’re gone,” she commented matter of factly. A small guilty look crossed the angel’s face, and Jody could almost see the anxiety in Castiel’s eyes about leaving them. 

“I… I am not good with small children. Or at least, not enough to stop them hurting themselves when I’m not looking.” Castiel said, clearly worried. “Small human children seem to be accidentally suicidal.”

“Doesn’t get much better when they get older,” Jody advised. “And I guess it could be worse. They could be a year younger and you’d be dealing with potty training as well.”

There was a look on Castiel’s face that spoke of unspeakable horror at that thought. Jody chuckled and took another mouthful.

“Well, I’m not sure there’s any other answer other than ‘yes’. They’re vulnerable and they need help.” As did Castiel, but she didn’t want to say that. The angel looked ragged, with strain, worry and concern etched in his face as though he’d suddenly had three years of full parenting thrust upon him in less than an hour. There was, at least, the satisfaction of seeing the relief flood over Castiel’s face at her acceptance.

“Thank you, Jody. I… I don’t know what I would have done-,”

“Shh, it’s fine. You all would have come to help me if I needed it,” Jody looked down at the sleeping Sam again. “ Although it’s been a while since I looked after kids this young though. Not long enough to forget that they look sweet and cherubic when asleep and normally turn into demons when awake, though. Sneaky demons.”

On cue, there was a crash from the next room.

“M’okay!” came Dean’s shout. 

Jody calmly took another sip of drink. Probably best to assume the house would look like a war zone within a few hours, even if it was just Dean on his own. The pair of them? A destructive force, she had no doubt.

“This is both horrendous and adorable at the same time.” she rubbed her forehead with a hand. “And Cas? You look pretty… whatever the polite term for shit is. Pretty sure you could do with a rest as well before you start talking to questionable contacts.”

The angel looked a little haunted at that suggestion, his shoulders hunching as he considered it. Finally he shook his head slowly.

“It would be best for me to leave immediately. It may take a while to obtain the solution, and the boys will be..,”

“... _they will be looked after_ ,” Jody said firmly. “If it’s just some old relic with a curse that someone forgot to remove then there’s no big bads trying to kill them, right? They can stay here and rest and _then_ we get them back to normal. And for the first time, both of them are of the size that I can manhandle them where I want,” 

A smile to indicate this was mostly a joke, but Castiel seemed to be thinking it over. Or at least until there was another little noise at the door and the still battered figure of Dean stared at them with the wide, glistening eyes of a small child who felt severely wronged. He was also dusty. The reason for that probably needed to be explored at a later time.

“Dean?” Jody shifted position to look at him better. “You okay, sweetheart?”

But Dean wasn’t looking at her. Dean was looking at Castiel with pure outrage. In such a small package it was definitely adorable, but also a little worrying. This was not how ‘nice rests’ started.

The small sword pointed toward Castiel with a little bit of a wobble.

“He said he was _going_ somewhere!” Little green eyes that sparkled indignation and hurt.

Oh. Of course. Probably should have seen that one coming. Jody looked across at now frozen Castiel, and then back at Dean who was still focused on the angel with all the dedication of a locked on missile.

“I -,” Castiel began, but Jody waved him off.

“It’s okay, Dean. Castiel is just going to get some supplies,” she said soothingly. “I need you here with me.”

“I’m going with him!” Dean would have folded his arms but the sword almost poked him in the leg when he tried. In the end he just aimed the wobbly tip of the sword toward them again. “S’my job.”

“This would not be-,” Castiel began again, but Jody shushed him a second time. The angel settled back down with a distressed look on his face, clearly disliking the idea of an upset Dean. Some things never changed regardless of how large Dean was at the time.

“But if you go, who will help me protect this place?” Jody asked. “And protect Sam?”

There was a small pause from Dean and a little frown to suggest that this was something he hadn’t considered. 

“I… don’t you have guns?” But the doubt was clear on his face. Guns were clearly not as good as his supernatural sword.

“Bullets only really work on people, not scary things.” Okay, people were often scary things but she didn’t want to get too technical. “I need you and Sam to help us protect the house while Cas is gone. Do you think you can do that for me?”

Another little look of doubt. Dean shot a small, uncertain look at his brother, and then at Cas again worriedly.

“But someone needs to protect Cas!” it was a small little plea from someone who clearly thought that should be him. Unfortunately the plea was a little loud. There was a small squeaky noise from the other Winchester, who squirmed and then lifted his head to blink in the light. Jody watched as the sleepiness suddenly turned to alarm as Sam realised he had no idea where he was.

“It’s okay, Sam. It’s still late,” she moved a little closer and gently patted his leg underneath the blanket, cursing the fact she hadn’t thought to move him upstairs. Still, probably better not to have him wake up in a completely strange room without anyone at all. Sam’s eyes were enormous as he stared around the room and then focused unsure eyes back on Jody.

“It’s Jody, Sam, remember me? I’m the police lady with Claire and Annie.” she placed the now empty cup to the side and moved to crouch down to the clearly anxious boy. “Dean’s over there and Cas is sitting over there. You’re safe.”

Sam stared at her with the wide eyes of a puppy trying to work out reality, before obediently looking at Dean and then Castiel and then back again.

“Cas is going!” Dean shouted. The wide eyes got bigger.

“..what? _Why_!?”

Jody had a suspicion that there may be a few metaphorical throttling moments with Dean.

“He’s not going anywhere tonight, Sam. Don’t worry. And he’s only going out to get some things tomorrow, nothing to worry about, right Cas?”

“Right.” Cas looked like a bunny in headlights. Sam shifted position, sitting and curling his legs under him like a human shaped cat, the blanket still wrapped around himself. He was also looking significantly less tired, which was probably a bad thing. 

Dean had also clearly grown tired of talking. There was a flash of movement behind her as he rushed across to the angel, dropping his sword as he launched himself at Castiel. Thankfully the angel caught him, the young Winchester grabbing onto him like a limpet to a rock and burying his head against Castiel’s chest.

“I don’t want you to go.” The agonised words were muffled by shirt and trench coat. 

“What’s going on-,” and that was a fresh voice to the mix. Claire stepped into the room, slowly removing her headphones as she frowned toward Castiel and the small creature that was snuggled so closely it was hard to tell where one started and the other finished. She studied the scene for a moment, before turning a raised eyebrow toward Jody.

“Claire. This is …,” Jody thought about it, and then sighed. “Magically complicated.”

“When is it ever not?” Claire walked closer before stopping dead with an incredulous look. She turned swiftly. “Is that _Dean_?!” 

“They had a mishap with an artefact.” Castiel explained, still trying to work out how best to hug the small limpet back. 

“They?” Claire glanced at the couch and stopped again. “That’s .. Sam? But he’s so _tiny!_ ”

Sam forgot his fears for a moment in his hurry to sulk at being deemed ‘tiny’. Jody could live with that though. It was significantly better than the tears that she had worried over, not even sure what she’d feel if they’d both started crying. Probably the worse temporary mother on the planet, for a start. Both of the Winchesters had fought off multiple apocalypses, it couldn’t come to them being in tears in her lounge. She’d never live it down.

“We’re working on turning them back.” Jody added, although she hoped that was a given. Claire eased the trench-coat slightly to see Dean better. Wary green eyes studied her back and squeezed Castiel harder.

“Wow, they really _do_ have shit luck,” she commented. Sam laughed, clearly at the choice of words. Jody groaned.

“Probably better to watch the language until they’re taller,” she advised. “Not that the language should be colourful in here..,”

“Sorry,” Claire was still studying Dean in fascination. “I mean, look at them. They’re pretty adorable. They need to stay out of my room though, I don’t want sticky fingers over my stuff, and if they’re Winchesters then that stickiness might be some weird goo or bodily fluid or something.”

“Duly noted,” Jody said dryly, but at least it was going better than she’d expected. Just needed Annie on board and they stood a chance of keeping the pair of boys under vague control. Claire stood back up and watched them for a moment longer, clearly thinking.

“Are they kids or kid-sized?” Claire checked. It was a fair question.

“Mostly kids, with a few memories,” Jody reckoned. “We think.”

“Okay. Be right back. And at least that explains what happened to the trifle in the kitchen,” she walked back out the door. Jody’s eyebrows rose, turning back to Castiel and his current passenger.

“And what _did_ happen to the trifle in the kitchen, Dean?”

There was a small nervous glance in her direction and Dean squirmed even more to cuddle up to Cas. Jody sighed. Okay, she’d have to find something else for dessert tomorrow. And possibly lock up the fridge before the pair of them wolfed down anything vaguely sweet, Dean was bad enough in adult form. 

Claire was back in double quick time carrying a plastic box. Both boys had turned their attention onto her, with even Dean slowly unpeeling himself from Cas’ body to allow himself a better look. Claire placed the box on the floor and then crouched down to dig through it. 

“Right,” she said, cheerfully. “I’ve got a couple of teddy bears here, one green rabbit - don’t ask me why it’s green, it just is, a couple of those adult colouring books … uh, colouring books for adults rather than dodgy pictures.. and some pens, and a large cop car. It’s all the stuff we were planning to donate a while back and forgot. Most of it’s from weird Christmas lucky dip things. I’m not normally a bunny girl.”

Dean looked uncertain, a super tough protector who appeared to be quite interested in a small fuzzy teddy bear. For a moment Jody wondered whether the boy had ever actually _had_ a teddy bear; from what Bobby had said, John hadn’t really seemed the type for soft toys for kids he was trying to ‘toughen up’. Claire watched where his gaze went and calmly moved the cop car and the teddy next to him. She glanced back to baby no.2.

“Sam? You want the bunny?” 

There was a soft noise that indicated that yes, Sam was definitely interested in the bunny. A second later and the fuzzy green bunny was tucked in with him, Sam playing with its ears in fascination.

“Hey look at that. The items were useful after all.” Claire grinned at her mother, before looking at Sam again. “They’re kinda cute. How long d’you think they’ll be like this?”

“God knows.” Jody replied.

“God is unlikely to tell us, though,” Castiel added, solemnly.

“So that equates to… what? A day? Two?” Claire looked between them and suddenly brightened. “Hey, this means I’m a more experienced hunter than Sam and Dean!”

“Don’t get ideas,” Jody warned.

“Hey, all I’m saying is they might cut me some slack if I feed them cookies,” Claire said reasonably. Both boys lifted their heads at that. “Okay, guys. To the kitchen. This is a milk and cookies situation.”

The Winchesters trotted out after her, Sam trailing the green bunny by the ear as he did so.

“Demons were hunting them for years and all they actually needed was to feed them cookies,” Jody noted. “She’s better with kids than I thought. So, you stay overnight and then head off in the morning, yes? Word of warning - there isn’t a ‘no’ option.”

Finally it was agreed. And needless to say, Castiel was asleep in less than five minutes.

*

The next day wasn’t as smooth as she’d been hoping for. Both boys seemed to be on a massive sugar high after their rest, which was promptly explained when she discovered Dean’s stash of ‘tasty things’. So that was why he was dusty the night before.

“But we don’t know when we’d get attacked,” Dean had explained in his little boy voice, so earnest, so cute, so _sneaky_. “So I saved them in a special place.”

“The cookies are _really_ good,” Sam added, crumbs still around his face and his eyes twinkling happily.

“And the chocolate brown stuff,” Dean included.

“And the pre-made waffles.” 

Annie had been watching them from the corner of the kitchen, sipping from a can of diet coke that was another thing that Jody didn’t really approve of for breakfast but thought that was the least of her problems.

“What’s the chocolate brown stuff?” she asked, curiously.

“I don’t know. Probably the leftover chocolate mousse that was in the fridge,” Jody studied the two boys who stayed in one spot for all of a minute before Dean gave Sam a little shove, called ‘it’ and vanished off into the house followed closely by his brother. Okay. This was going to take more effort than she’d remembered.

“They look a handful.” Annie said doubtfully.

“Well, at least they’re not armed.” Jody closed her eyes as another crash sounded where clearly one of them hadn’t taken a corner widely enough. She sighed again, heavily. “I’m planning to treat them like puppies. Tire them out, get them a nap, repeat. It’s only for a few days.”

“That sounds like one of those things that people say in order to convince themselves that the situation isn’t that bad,” Annie commented.

“It’s not _that_ bad-,”

Her sentence was cut off by another crash, followed by the sound of something shattering. Jody raised her eyes to heaven for a moment before offering a winning smile and then turning to find out exactly what had happened. She already knew it wouldn’t be that bad, whatever it was. No fangs, no end of the world, no death, no crazy supernatural attacks. They were kids. Little kids. That was it. Even the Winchesters couldn’t-

-well.

“That’s actually quite impressive,” she surveyed the broken door and then glanced down at a repentful Dean who was trying to avoid her gaze. 

“...sorry..,”

“How on earth did you..,” she stopped herself. “Okay, nevermind. Right. You’ve both had some form of breakfast, now let’s get you worn out. Where’s Sam? Oh. Sam, .. don’t do that. And get out from under there, I’m not cross, I’m just … well, surprised. There’s a good boy.”

She surveyed the damage again before mentally shrugging. It could be worse. They could have thrown themselves out of windows for a start. Holding out a hand for Dean to hold, then the other for Sam, she led them back downstairs.

“Right, we’re going to have a game in the yard, okay? Possibly some ball throwing-,” Or possibly not; their hand-eye coordination was definitely not as good as their passion for it. “..or running around, bit of training- _Dean!_ ”

But Dean had given a cry and pulled away, already vanishing around a corner. Annie frowned as she came from the kitchen, watching him run before turning back to view a weary Jody.

“For a kid, he’s pretty fast,” she commented.

“He’s incredibly slippy.” Jody replied, with feeling. “Can you take Sam outside? Please don’t lose him.”

“I won’t get lost.” Sam announced proudly. “I know the yard really well.”

“You haven’t been outside. _How_ do you know the yard really … no, no, it’s fine, I won’t ask.” Jody pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand, and gently transferred Sam’s hand to Annie. “It’s just as well they’re cute. _Dean?!_ Where are you?”

She could hear Annie chuckling as Jody went off in search of Dean, but decided to ignore it. And Dean was also pretty damned good at hiding on top of being speedy. She checked the downstairs, under chairs, in closets, in small gaps she’d forgotten existed. No Dean.

“Well, he can’t have gone far..,” she muttered to herself. “Dean? _Dean!_ ”

Nothing. How was that even possible? She sighed again and returned to the kitchen, where Annie was still sitting with a perfectly behaved Sam. Highly suspicious. Jody moved into the room and then looked carefully at Sam, sitting on a high stool with his legs swinging and drinking what appeared to be milk. Her gaze turned to Annie in question.

“No, there’s nothing in the milk. Found Dean?” Annie queried.

“Yeah, he’s right there, currently using the cloak of invisibility.” Jody raised an eyebrow and gestured to the empty space next to her.

“A day and a half ago he was, what, in his late 30s? Invisibility isn’t so wild,” Annie chuckled. “Do you want me to give it a go?”

“I’ve just gone through the whole of the house-,”

“Dean? Would you like a cookie?” Annie called. 

“-that’s _not_ going to work-,” Jody paused as the small boy appeared as though by magic at the doorway, looking dustier than ever and with a few new smear marks across his cheeks that made him look as though he was about to appear in a baby version of Lord Of The Flies. In his hand he clutched his little sword, the other the teddy bear. He looked immensely proud of himself.

“Dean, sweetheart,” Jody tried to keep the exasperation out of her voice. “You can’t just run off like that,”

“...sorry..,” Although clearly unrepentant for this activity. Dean lifted his treasures, the bear and the sword. “Needed these for training,”

Even Jody couldn’t keep a stern expression at the ‘twaining.” She paused, then gestured toward the prospect of cookies.

Dean trotted in and managed to climb up onto his own stool, wobbling a little before sitting down and looking expectantly toward Annie. A cookie was provided to both boys and there was a brief but welcome silence, only broken by the eager sounds of munching. Munching some very large, very chocolatey looking cookies, for that matter. 

“Is extra sugar really the way we want to take this?” Jody murmured.

“It’s a couple of days. They can cope.” Annie ruffled Sam’s hair affectionately, the normally-younger Winchester beaming back at her. “And come on, you reckon they’ve ever had any spoiling days when they were actually kids? I bet they barely had an acknowledgement on their birthday.”

“Hmm,” Jody folded her arms, but was beginning to soften a little. “Yeah, okay. Although now I can understand why Castiel looked like he’d gone through the wringer a few times when he turned up.”

“He’s an angel of the lord, isn’t he?”

“I don’t think children are part of their usual training. Other than the whole Jesus thing, and even then that was more dragging other people in to deal with the baby,” Jody reflected, and then helped the boys down as they finished their food. “Right. You two, this way. Annie, c’mon. You can do your baby whispering out here.”

The yard went better than expected. Balls and any other missile were confirmed as a bad idea, but the ‘training’ was popular, an activity that seemed to be a game of tag with very specialised rules to evade capture. Whoever was ‘it’ was either a vampire or werewolf, albeit much slower ones to allow them a chance to escape; neither of the boys was quite so fast without sharp corners to dodge around.

By the end of an hour they were all out of breath, and several muscles were aching in Jody’s thigh. There had been an injury too; Dean had kept hold of his little sword and had accidentally bonked Annie a bit too hard on the arm, although it was Dean who was more upset than Annie. 

“Jody,” Sam said after a while. “Where did Cas go?”

Ah, awkward questions. She thought things had been going a little too well.

“He’s just gone back to talk to someone nice. He’ll only be gone a few days,” Jody smiled at the earnest little face that turned to her, and automatically rubbed away a muddy splodge on his face with her thumb carefully. 

“That’s my car,” Dean said suddenly, pointing toward the Impala. Jody hesitated, and cast a look toward Annie for a moment. Oh dear god.

“Yes. But you are _not_ to go in it without either me, Claire or Annie, do you understand?” her voice had immediately switched to ‘mother’ mode on such a topic. Jody could already imagine Dean and Sam joy-riding the vehicle down the track, one standing on the chair to see. And then, of course, there were the other things that were regularly stored in the car that were 100% non child friendly.

Dean looked at the car a little longer and with clear longing. Her heart skipped a beat again.

“Dean. _Promise me_.”

Still silent. Jody moved closer and dropped to a crouch near him, hand gently resting on Dean’s arm to attract his attention.

“Dean, I mean it.” she scanned his eyes when he finally and reluctantly looked her way. “I know you’re a big boy, but you need to wait. I don’t want you hurt, do you understand? You staying away from the car would make me very happy.”

Dean looked a little doubtful, before finally offering a little smile and a nod. “Okay. If it makes you happy.”

She let out a breath, and returned the happy little smile with one of her own. “Thank you. Good boy, Dean.”

The boy looked bewildered for a moment as though she’d spoken an unfamiliar language, then smiled a little more. How often had he heard ‘good boy,’? Probably not much. She stood, ruffling his hair as she did so, and tried to ignore Dean casting another longing look at the Impala. Cas had requested use of her vehicle instead, so worried about accidentally damaging the mechanical love of Dean’s life, and she could see the reasoning. Still, it was like an enormous temptation with a massive sign hanging over it, and neither boy had shown any restraint when it came to temptations.

“Can we go in for a drink?” piped up Sam, then flushed. “Please.”

Despite their tendencies for mischief, Jody smiled fondly. Bless their little destructive hearts. Drinks it was, and a few cartoons to calm them down. And then, the bigger goal - nap time.

*

“We’re not _babies_ ,” Dean was sitting bolt upright in bed, arms folded with his sword propped on one side and bear tucked in with him. There was a pout on his face that was ruining the impact of his objection, but Jody wasn’t planning to tell him that. Sam was nestled in his own little camp bed hugging his little green bunny and watching the disagreement in interest.

“It’s not a _baby_ story,” Jody countered softly. “And you need your rest to keep in tip top shape.”

Dean folded his arms even tighter in mutiny. His display of outrage was not assisted by his slightly oversized t-shirt and shorts from the thrift store, nor his current scent of baby soap from his bath, but Jody wasn’t planning to tell him that either. She had been expecting more of a fight for bath time, but both boys had been fascinated by the bubbles and won over by the little boat and rubber duck that had also been a thrift store victory. The water had been cold by the time she had extracted Sam from his elaborate story around the duck’s capture, which was on par with Moby Dick.

“I want to hear the story,” Sam piped up from his pillow, all clean and fresh. 

“It’s for _babies_.” Dean repeated stubbornly.

“It’s re… re-ach… ,” Sam frowned as he struggled to remember the word. Jody finally worked out what he was trying to say.

“Research? That’s right, Sammy. Stories are just another way to give information,” she said, leaning back on her chair between the two camp beds in the guest bedroom. “It’s another part of training.”

Dean gave her a suspicious look that suggested the little boy was definitely getting a better idea on what was and wasn’t good for hunters to know. Not that Jody reckoned Dean remembered what he was training for anymore; Dean’s conversations had moved onto almost standard children’s tales of things that were creepy, and most of them seemed cartoon level. Still, that wasn’t a bad thing. They were little; they didn’t need to know what hunters were. As long as they had their special things that kept them safe then she was happy.

“Well, this is a story about something that had terrible tusks and terrible claws,” she remarked. “And terrible teeth in his terrible jaws.”

Dean hesitated. Sam looked enthralled already, hugging his bunny closer as he listened. 

“We want to hear the story.” Sam said.

“No, we don’t,” Dean sulked.

“We do!”

“ _Don’t!_ ”

“ _Do!_ ”

“Well, I would feel much better if you know what could be lurking in the woods,” Jody said solemnly. Indecision flashed across Dean’s face as he glanced at the brightly coloured book in Jody’s hands, and then down at his nearby sword. A small battle was clearly taking place in his mind.

“Ask your teddy,” suggested Claire, who had been leaning against the doorway. Dean frowned, and then turned his attention to the little stuffed toy. Jody kept a respectful silence before Dean lifted his head and fixed them all with a stern look.

“Bear says we should.” he said. “But only because of safety.”

“Sensible,” Jody agreed solemnly.

“Bears always know,” Claire grinned. “So.. where were we?”

Jody smiled back at her and opened the book, settling back against the chair as the boys squirmed closer to the edges of the bed to see the pictures. Sam was gently chewing the bunny’s ear, and even Dean had a look of lost wonder in his eyes. Jody smiled. This was the sort of thing she remembered. The magic of youth.

She looked down at the page and cleared her voice.

“A mouse took a stroll through a deep dark wood,” she said. “A fox saw the mouse, and the mouse looked good…,”

And thus the Gruffalo was cemented within the Winchester lore of monsters. 

And so, to a certain extent, was the mouse.

*

“Hey, Cas.”

“Jody. It is good to hear your voice.” the angel hesitated before asking the question she knew he was desperate to ask. “How are Dean and Sam?”

“Running me ragged, but they’re fine,” Jody smiled fondly. There was a silence from the other end of the phone that managed to sound puzzled. She chuckled to herself and translated. “They’re quite tiring, Cas, as you know.”

“Ah. Yes. They have a lot of energy.” Castiel considered that. “And they can talk a lot.”

“We haven’t got to the verbal diarrhea yet but I’m conscious it’s probably gonna come at some point. They’re still settling in, getting used to the place.” Jody picked up a pen on the desk and turned it idly in her hand as something to do. “How’s it going on your side? Did you find your contacts?”

There was a weary sigh. “Not well. I found the first contact. He was amused but couldn’t really offer anything useful. I’m trying to locate the second one. I believe she should be able to remove it, but whether she has the inclination is another matter. The affliction appears to be some form of curse, which can be difficult to stop once triggered.”

“Oh.” Jody stilled the pen to think over this. Difficult or impossible? Probably best not thinking about. “Do you think you’ll be able to convince her?”

“She is normally bribeable in some form,” Castiel replied solemnly. The pen tapped the desk thoughtfully.

“What sort of bribe are we talking?”

“I would imagine a favour of some type. Perhaps a difficult to obtain spell component,” Castiel said after a moment’s pause. “Either way, our options are limited.”

“Agreed.” 

“They are well?” Castiel checked again. Jody chuckled. Castiel took his guardian angel role very seriously, and that was without the ‘special bond’ that the angel and Dean seemed to share. Best friends, Dean had always maintained, but Jody wasn’t born yesterday. She’d seen the looks in their eyes, like something out of a high school drama. 

“They are, although I can’t say the same for my house. They’ve played, had a couple of stories, made some cupcakes with Annie in the kitchen - Sam got some dough on the ceiling, and I still don’t know how - and did some drawing in the evening. Sam drew a mouse with lots of weapons, and Dean has drawn you a picture of a car and some pie. He was worried you were unhappy, so he went with the best things he could think of to cheer you up.”

There was another long silence from the other end of the phone. Jody smiled again. The drawings needed a lot of explanation from both the boys, but they had eagerly expanded on the images. 

“Oh, and they’ve both needed two baths today. It’s been a bit of a mucky day.” she didn’t know why she added that bit, but currently Castiel was forming part of this fake parent-group so baths had to be part of it. “They like bubbles.”

“I see,” Castiel spoke so solemnly it was as though she’d given a medical diagnosis. And this had to be so odd to the angel; his charges alive but so very different. And sticky. Excessively sticky.

“I’ll keep you updated with their progress. You let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“Agreed.” Castiel hesitated. “And thank you, Jody. I do not believe I could have looked after them well.”

“They are a handful, but it’s worth it.”

And that was definitely the truth.

*

Knowing Castiel’s anxiety about the boys’ welfare, Jody had decided to keep a very close track of what they were doing and had obtained a notebook for the task.

The morning went by without too much incident. she noted in her book. Sam had gone through various old encyclopedias she had hanging around from times gone past, and was quizzing Annie about various pictures that caught his fancy. Dean had decided to ‘create’ something in the kitchen using old cardboard boxes, cardboard tubes, random plastic containers and a lot of tape. In the end there was a cardboard tank-like weapon that was armed and ready, which Dean proclaimed was an anti-werewolf tank thanks to the tin foil that he’d carefully inserted in the tube which was the closest thing to silver he could find.

Lunch had been eaten, although Dean had refused the carrot sticks. Sam had wolfed his own down and then begged for more in what was possibly a show of solidarity with his little green bunny. Later on she had discovered that said little green bunny had also been given a carrot stick for lunch, although apparently the bunny was of the same opinion as Dean as to its appeal.

After that, they’d spent a couple of hours in the yard, digging, running, getting so up close to nature that Jody was pretty sure they could grow potatoes in the muck in Dean’s ears. Yet another bath, and the duck was sunk again by the boat. Sam advised it was due to duck warfare, and Jody couldn’t disagree with him.

The bear decided the next story again, which was another ‘hunter’ type tale ‘Where the Wild Things Were’. Jody hadn’t been sure this had been the best idea after Dean started asking whether he could have a furry wolf tunic as well, but thankfully Sam pointed out this would make _him_ the monster and it was shelved as a Bad Decision.

The hungry caterpillar also made an appearance, and Dean maintained that it was only hungry because it was eating leaves and not pie. Another aspect that she couldn’t really argue with.

And it was all hectic and mad and messy and infuriating and silly, and strangely… relaxing. She couldn’t quite explain the feeling she’d had when Sam had given her a massive hug before running to bed, nor the way that Dean smiled so trustingly at her when she took his hand. She’d kissed one on the cheek automatically after putting them to bed and stopped in shock, but the boy - Sam - had been so pleased that she no longer cared whether it was a good idea to take things that far. She’d bathed the boys several times now. A kiss on the cheek was nothing in the great scheme of things.

Castiel still had not located his target and therefore they had another phone catch up over their temporary children’s progress. She’d added in extra detail as it seemed to reassure the angel, their likes, their dislikes, their funny moments, whether they’d slept enough, whether the small little nightmares had returned.

In a really messed up situation, it all felt remarkably .. normal.

And things continued like that for another few days. She could see how the boys' confidence levels increased, the way that Sam now explored away from his brother, Dean’s slow movement away from constant monster hunting and into baseball or football or just running for the fun of it. She knew how to cut their sandwiches the way they liked it, Sam requesting little triangles and Dean preferring his squared and without crusts. 

“You’re gonna adopt them if this carries on much longer,” Annie had observed after one storybook session, and Jody had shushed her, but what _would_ happen if Castiel couldn’t find a way back to their adult forms? It was a question she was ignoring, but it was harder and harder not to imagine as the boys took up much of her day.

“Hey! That’s mine! _Jo-deee!_ It’s not fair, Dean’s taken my thing!”

“Have not!”

“It’s in your hand!”

“This is _my_ thing!” 

Jody never did find out what the thing was before they had zoomed outside, still furiously shouting at each other. She sighed softly. Well, that was a habit they’d kept until adulthood; all they needed now was some dubious name-calling. Well, until the crash and then the scream.

“What on earth-?” Jody raced outside to be confronted by a stunned Sam and a tear filled Dean watching him anxiously. Or at least, watching Sam’s left shin which had met up with an encounter with a rock or a hard place or whatever and was now leaking blood at quite a rapid rate. Two sets of scared eyes turned to her as she crouched down and tried to see the damage through the mud.

“Is he dying?” Dean’s eyes were enormous. “I didn’t mean to do it! He fell! He was running and then just went down!”

“He’s not dying, he’s just a bit muddy,” Jody soothed them both and pulled out a tissue that she thankfully had in her pocket. “I’m going to press this here and then we’ll get you all cleaned up, okay Sam?”

Sam was on word strike and merely nodded, still wide eyed and stunned. Still, there weren't tears and that was a good thing. She hated hearing either of them cry. Seemed against nature.

“Good boy,” she gently scooped him up, and glanced down at the scared Dean. “Could you pick up the things and bring them in for me, Dean?”

“I’m sorry!” Dean seemed to be more in shock than Sam, his voice pleading.

“It’s okay, Dean, accidents happen. C’mon, follow me.” A trip to the kitchen later and Sam was wrapped up, munching yet another cookie - she needed more supplies - and bearing a plaster on his leg with the pride of someone who had picked it up during a war. And they liked wars, that was certain. If they weren’t curled up together like puppies then they were bickering over whatever turned up that day, normally whatever fun kitchen item Dean had repurposed for his .. Jody wasn’t sure, but it seemed to be some type of armoury. 

They were getting quite the collection of bruises. Well, until Claire stepped in, anyway. 

“What’s going on?” she asked as yet another battle occurred in the lounge. There was a soft pft as the explanation of current wrongness was given to her. “You’re doing it wrong.”

Both boys had stopped to listen, and looked bemused when Claire gave them both pillows. 

“There. You use those.” she paused to help Sam hold it properly. “So when you want to battle to win you just boomph! Like that. See?”

The boys studied the pillows, then looked at each other.

“How d’you know who won-HEY!! No fair!!” Sam furiously retaliated against Dean’s sneaky first blow, and for a good five minutes there was just a whirlwind of pillows and children and the occasional loose feather in the centre of the room. Finally they stopped, panting, exhausted, pillows drooping to the floor.

“Who _did_ win?” Jody murmured to Claire.

“Probably the furniture.”

And Pillow Wars had a big thumbs up in approval.

*

She always thought the knock on the door would happen in the evening, possibly at a dramatic time or the witching hour or something. In the end it occurred at twelve minutes past two in the afternoon, just after the boys had woken up from their naps and Jody had put on some calming music in the vague hope it might slow them down a bit.

“Coming,” she shouted at the door as she dried her hands with a cloth and dodging a speeding Sam who was ‘teaching his bunny to fly’. This was thankfully achieved without Dean’s helpful suggestion of simply throwing said rabbit as far as they could, a small mercy she could appreciate.

Jody opened the door and hesitated.

“Hello, my darling,” said the woman with the long red hair. Castiel gave Jody a long suffering look, and a small, tiny nod of the head in greeting. Jody felt her heart sink and a wash of cold sweep over her. Oh.

“Uh. Come in,” she stepped back to allow them entry. They were allowed all of ten seconds to look around before there was a tiny stampede and two boys rushed through the room to see who the visitors were. They skidded to a halt, staring, silent, not fully trusting their eyes, before they both yelled Castiel’s name as they ran forward to pounce on the angel delightedly.

Rowena looked at the resulting pile up critically. 

“Well, that’s a novel approach to get a fallen angel,” she commented. “I see the boys are in fine form, even if they are fun sized versions of themselves.”

“They’ve been doing well,” Jody replied, a little defensively.

“Aye, I can see that. They’re breathing for a start. I know with my Fergus that young boys especially have a habit of doing very unpredictable things,” She moved into the living room and Jody was aware of a large black bag tucked under an arm. “Come, come, let’s get on with this. Castiel, are you going to lie there _all_ day?”

“Missed you,” Dean was happily curled up on his chest, arms around his neck.

“Yeah. Lots!” That was Sam, essentially stuck to his leg. 

Jody glanced at the scene. Neither boy seemed willing to let him go, but equally Cas seemed perfectly happy to let them, one arm wrapped around Dean and the other pulling Sam to him. She smiled to herself sadly. She suspected that the days of such emotional honesty would be soon over.

“It might take a bit of time to unearth him. Would you like a coffee?” Politeness was probably the easiest path. 

There was a purse of brightly coloured lips from her guest and Rowena waved a hand expressively. Jody had no idea what the expression was supposed to be, but was probably something dramatic.

“Not coffee.” said the witch. “Do you have any wine?”

“I used to, and then children happened.” Jody sighed. “Brandy? Whisky?”

“Oh, a brandy would be good, sweetheart, thank you. You can never start too early.” another look toward Castiel and the boys, the angel having finally sat up and gathered the boys together in a slightly more organised way. Still, they looked in no place to get Castiel off the floor. Dean was checking him over for injury and was babbling about the Gruffalo, and Sam was exploring the pockets of Castiel’s trenchcoat. 

What _was_ in the pockets of Cas’ trenchcoat? Jody wasn’t sure. Didn’t know whether she wanted to find out either; probably a small portal to another planet the way they were going.

“It’s been around a week, yes?” Rowena queried as the brandy returned, her eyes still steady on the boys thoughtfully. 

“Something like that.”

“Mm.”

That was not the best noise she’d ever heard. Jody frowned, and then looked back at where Castiel was finally beginning to control the situation. Or at least slightly, anyway. Dean still determined never to let Castiel out of his sight again.

“You can turn them back?”

“Well, that remains to be seen,” her gaze sharpened on the nearest boy, Dean, for a moment, and then lifted her black bag up to explore within it. “Curses can be a tricky beast to conquer, especially when we haven’t entirely discovered the provenance of the item. Still, there are some spells that act as a good general purpose, and we can but try.”

“This won’t harm them, right?” Jody watched as items of questionable origins filled up the small table in front of them, including what appeared to be a glass jar crammed full with small furry limbs. Mice? Possibly mice. Because that’s what everyone had in their handbag.

There was a soft dismissive noise at that. “I’m sure they’ll be quite fine by the end of it. And any risk is bound to be worth it,” 

That was not the most comforting thing she’d ever heard.

“Castiel…” Jody looked toward the angel for reassurance. Apologetic blue eyes turned to her again.

“This is the best way to achieve our goal.”

“Is it _safe_?” she insisted. 

“Come now, do you really want either of them to remain at this age? You’d be grey within a month.” her eyebrow twitched upwards idly. “Greyer, anyway. And the risks are _minor_. I can do one at a time if you don’t want all your eggs in one basket,”

And that was a horrible thought, picking out one for experimentation. Jody looked back at Castiel who had finally realised that the wording might not be appropriate.

“It’s okay. This will just be a reversal. If it does not work then nothing happens,” he said.

“In theory,” Rowena added brightly. “Shall we begin? I have my pot and the various components. I now need a fingernail or a hair or something from one of the boys.”

“Hair.” Jody said immediately. Fingernails normally resulted in screams loud enough to suggest she was actually hacking off fingers. 

“Hair it is,” the witch purred, then frowned. “Keep them over there, though. I do not want small fingers ruining the spell.”

“Sammy, come sit with me.” Jody called him and patted the couch next to her. Sam studied the couch for a moment, then Jody, and then back to Rowena curiously. And she knew that look. That was a Sam calculating look. If Dean was a physical terror, Sam led the way for thoughtful deviousness and awkward questions.

“Is she a monster?” he asked carefully.

“Don’t be silly, she’s not a monster.” Dean was still stuck to Castiel, although was clearly curious about his brother’s line of thinking. “She has bouncy hair. Monsters don’t have bouncy hair.”

“Sneaky ones do,” Sam said doubtfully.

“Do I look sneaky?” Rowena raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Castiel provided that answer helpfully. The witch eyed him and threw a few more leaves into a pot.

“Well, thank you. And you both could help by getting them prepared, you know.”

Jody cast a look toward Castiel and then back again, one hand resting on Sam’s thigh protectively.

“Prepared?” she said carefully. There was another look up and Rowena rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Yes, covered in butter and ready for the oven… please, dearies. Look at them. So small. And then you’d like them to become big adults again. Now look at them again. What do you notice?” she gave them an impatient look. “This isn’t the incredibly hulk. I’m doing _them_ , not their clothes. Mm?”

“Oh!” 

“Hallelujah,” the witch muttered under her breath and ignored them for a moment as they undressed and re-dressed in the largest t-shirts Jody could find. Dean lifted his hand and inspected the fabric that draped over him like a very odd toga.

“Are we camping?” Innocent eyes turned to them.

“This is going to work, right?” Jody shot another look at Castiel. The angel looked solemn but nodded. Sam looked between them and then down at the t-shirt he was swimming in, tugging on the fabric nervously.

“What’s going on?”

His nerves were rubbing off on Dean, who also suddenly looked a lot less certain. The witch eyed them, unimpressed.

“Such a shame we’re not back in my day. You could beat children in line without a thought. Kept my Fergus in line.”

“He’s now king of hell.” Castiel pointed out.

“Exactly. Gave him ambition.”

Further movements. A pinch of this, a scattering of that, a flame that burned blue for a moment before flicking out of existence. Jody eyed it all warily, Sam pressed to her side in silent trust it was all okay. Dean was still with Cas, eyes bright and determined but one hand clasped tightly in the angel’s and the other clinging to a leg of the bear.

And finally, one last word accompanied by hand waving, and then …

Rowena looked around expectantly. Silence. Jody was about to speak, when a blur to the edge of her vision blinked into effect and then silence again as a significantly larger body pressed against her. 

“Sam?” 

Bewildered eyes turned to her again, but these were the eyes she was familiar with. Jody all but sagged in relief. Thank god for that. He was caught up in a hug before he really knew what was happening, a small pause as Sam’s mind caught up with world events before he hugged her back again with the fierceness she had remembered when he was small. He was safe. Jody closed her eyes and allowed the tension to escape from her muscles. Safe.

“Dean?” she pushed herself slightly away and glanced across to find an equally confused man standing in a no-longer particularly large t-shirt. Dean looked okay, had all the bits that he’d started off with, and his hand was still clasped within Cas’ but his eyes.. 

Jody frowned at him, and then looked back at the still silent Sam as she worried about her initial assessment. They were alright, surely? They had to be alright.

“Boys, I really need you to talk,” she said, slowly. 

“They’re fine.” Rowena dismissed it with a wave of her hand before she continued putting her supplies back in the bag. 

Only they didn’t look fine. They both looked stunned, concussed almost, as though they’d entered a Santa’s Grotto and found it full of blood and gore and reindeer parts hanging from hooks in the ceiling. She couldn’t even see Sam properly anymore due to him hugging her harder, and that was disturbing. She automatically made a soft comforting noise as she returned the hug, gently rubbing Sam’s back as he curled into her. If she didn’t know better she’d have said he was scared, but they were back, whole, large again. What the hell were they scared _of_?

Finally Dean moved, licking his bottom lip and slowly looking down at his hand in Cas’ for a few moments as though only just understanding their current reality. He didn’t attempt to uncurl their fingers, green eyes lifting to gaze at the concerned angel in question. 

“Dean?” Cas murmured. “Are you okay?”

“I..,” 

Well, it wasn’t a speech, nor was it convincing, but at least it confirmed he understood them. Jody exchanged looks with Castiel and pulled Sam closer to her instinctively. He still seemed happy enough to stay there, silent, and she was more than happy to let him.

Dean opened his mouth to speak again before lifting his other hand - with bear still attached - and rubbed his eye with the ball of his hand in the same way as he had when smaller. He focused on the bear and frowned.

“I.. man, this is a little fu-,” he stopped himself instinctively before the curse and looked automatically at Jody apologetically. She smiled gently back at him. If anyone was allowed to say ‘fucked up’ right at this moment then it was probably Dean.

“Are you okay, Dean?” Castiel spoke again, and Dean jumped. 

“What? Uh. Yeah. I think so. I..,” there was a pause and his voice grew smaller, taking a better look at himself “..uh, I haven’t got pants on.”

“Yes, it’s a good look for you.” Rowena commented from behind her table. Dean scowled in her direction and then cautiously down again at where his hand was linked to Castiel’s as though in disbelief. Not that either Dean or Castiel tried to extract themselves from the situation, hands remaining clasped as though this was some essential lifeline. Perhaps it was.

The witch waited a moment and then sighed.

“Well, if he’s talking and all adulty, I’m assuming the other one is as well. I’m also assuming that the shirt covers even less of Sam.” she noted. “Just as a warning since none of you seem to be paying attention.”

She was right. Dean was still watching Cas with an unreadable expression, and Cas didn’t seem much better. Sam had released the intensity of his grip but hadn’t really moved away, and the warmth of his body was a comfort that Jody welcomed. The witch scanned them all before rolling her eyes and moving briskly toward the door.

“Well, that’s me done for today. Busy times.”

Castiel finally snapped out, lifting his head with the determination that Jody had noticed he sometimes had whenever he was feeling particularly protective.

“Wait.” There was no arguing with that voice, low but promising bad things if ignored. Rowena made an unimpressed noise but stopped, shooting a look toward the angel.

“Aye, very well. But you’d best be hurrying. I’ve got other things to do today.”

Not that the angel seemed to care. He was back with Dean, murmuring something to him, and Jody watched the elder Winchester’s expression slowly shift into something more relaxed as Castiel guided him to sit in the armchair. An additional cushion was added for modesty reasons, Dean automatically crossing his legs and leaning forward like a small boy in the middle of a very interesting class at school as Castiel gently settled him.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” the angel murmured. Dean glanced at him, gave a small nod, and then looked across at Sam doubtfully. Castiel smiled gently and then walked back toward Rowena, eyes hardening with each step away from Dean.

“What is happening?” his low demand brought Jody out of her daze. Carefully extracting herself from Sam and ensuring he had several cushions of his own, she swiftly cleared the distance to stand beside a clearly irritable angel.

“Are they okay?” Jody whispered to Castiel as she glanced back to see Sam stare out the window blankly. There was a soft laugh from Rowena.

“Oh for goodness sake! You both keep saying that as you genuinely expected them to be fine! Were you honestly _expecting_ them to be okay?” she looked toward the youngest Winchester for a moment and then back at them with tired eyes. “People always focus on the memories you lose, and never the memories you gain. You’ve just taken two boys who’ve never had a childhood as far as I understand, gave them nothing to worry about, people who cared about them, warmth, security, those slightly creepy soft toys, and a home, and then now? Poof! All gone. And worse? _They can remember it_. Imagine being a hunter who never really knew what they were missing. Now imagine what it’s like when they do. That less than an hour ago the only thing they had to worry about was who got the last strawberry yogurt.”

They stared at her silently. She looked between them incredulously before closing her eyes and rubbing her temple with a finger.

“Honestly, no one ever seems to pay attention to human nature. Stick around as long as I have and you _know_.” she opened her eyes again and looked expectantly toward Castiel. “Right. I have done my side of the bargain, so I will expect yours within a few days.”

“Yes.” the angel gritted out.

“I’m taking that to mean it’ll be with me within a few days and thank you very much for all your help, Rowena, you’re a wonderful person,” 

Castiel frowned at her, which answered that bit reasonably well. “When will they recover?”

“I’m a witch, dear, not a fortune teller. Or a psychiatrist either, although I do love their little couches.” she chuckled softly and then looked back at their serious faces. “Oh, please. They’re _Winchesters_. You drop a whole cliff on them and they’d bounce back in some form.”

“They’re hurting.” Castiel’s voice suggested this was unacceptable.

“Aye, and _that’s life_. What did that poet say? It is better to have loved and to have lost than to have never loved at all. Or I might have picked it up in the middle of a fortune cookie, who knows.” Rowena readjusted her bag on her arm and looked at them expectantly. “Yes, they’re hurting. This isn’t something I can resolve. That’s up to you.”

Castiel’s expression promised painful things in certain other people’s futures. He was about to argue some more when Jody gently rested her hand on his arm. Wouldn’t help. Might make Castiel feel a little better, but ultimately it was a very short term relief. She looked across at Dean who was still cross legged in the armchair, looking at his hands as though he’d never seen them before in his life. The bear sat next to him a little forlornly, a symbol of protective magic from another time. 

“They’ll remember everything they did before, right? Their history before they got shrunk?” she asked softly.

“Oh yes, dearie, you don’t have to worry about that. They’ll remember all the other fun things that a Winchester gets up to. Theft. Murder. Blood. Guts. Hell. Etc. Give it time,” Rowena waved that off. “Well, have fun readjusting. I’m sure it will get better at some point,”

“I’m sure they’ll be better _soon_ ” Castiel said determinedly.

Rowena looked back at Castiel, and then knowingly toward Jody, and then back again. “Oh, was it the boys I was referring to? Good to know.”

And with that she was gone.

A few hours later and the boys had gone as well. Dean had re-emerged from a long shower, and eaten whatever Jody put in front of him with silent determination. Sam was still quiet but offered her small smiles. And neither of them could look in her direction, not for very long, and the silent pain in their eyes made that just as well.

Perhaps they would get back to normal. Perhaps it was just too raw, too weird, too whatever. Jody sighed as she put away the camp beds and tidied away the last remnants of play. Who knew that something that didn’t have either fangs or knives could hurt quite this badly.

She paused as she looked over the room again, resting fingers on the handle of the door. Finally she closed it behind her, leaving only a bear and rabbit to stand guard on the shelving near the window.

END


End file.
